Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River (Chinese: 黃河; pinyin: Huáng Hé) valley in the Neolithic era. The written history of China begins with the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1550BCE - ca. 1046 BCE). Turtle shells with ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been carbon dated to as early as 1500 BCE. The origins of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy, developed during the Zhou Dynasty (1045BCE to 256 BCE) that followed the Shang. It was the longest lasting dynasty and spans the period in which the written script evolved from ancient oracle script to the beginnings of modern Chinese writing.

The feudal Zhou Dynasty eventually broke apart into individual city states, creating the Warring States period. In 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang united the various warring kingdoms and created the first Chinese empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of China to directly control the vast territories.

The conventional view of Chinese history is that of a dynasty alternating between periods of political unity and disunity and occasionally becoming dominated by foreign Asian peoples, most of whom were assimilated into the Han Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, and assimilation, merged to create modern Chinese culture.(From Wikipedia, description text under Creative Commons License)